As authorities come under scrutiny over their handling of planned burns that raged out of control near Lancefield in central Victoria this month, a study has shown such burning had “leverage” in reducing the area burnt by later fires in only four of 30 regions examined in Victoria, South Australia, NSW and the ACT. Yet …
After years of meetings, months of Congressional debates, and days of around-the-clock negotiations, the United States and 11 other countries reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Trade agreement (TPP) on Monday. If adopted, the TPP will eliminate or reduce tariffs between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United …
NEW YORK – As negotiators and ministers from the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries meet in Atlanta in an effort to finalize the details of the sweeping new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), some sober analysis is warranted. The biggest regional trade and investment agreement in history is not what it seems. You will …
Jill Redwood is a long-time environmental campaigner and the coordinator of Environment East Gippsland, the longest running community group working solely for the protection of Victoria’s last and largest area of ancient forest and surrounding natural environment. For over three decades, Jill has been a campaign stalwart for the protection of East Gippsland forests and …
This article was written for the VNPA’s September 2015 Parkwatch magazine and summarises the legal case we launched on behalf of the three threatened forest owl species after the 2014 bushfires. The agreed settlement terms, as of late September 2015, were still being worked through by DELWP.Thanks to the VNPA for permission to reproduce it …
Farm organisations horrified they will be swept up in changes to environmental laws that aim to stop green groups taking legal action against resource projects Angry farm organisations have learned they will be caught by changes to federal environmental laws aimed at stopping “environmental saboteurs” using the courts to delay big projects, but agriculture minister
An analysis of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act by progressive think tank the Australia Institute has found only a fraction of the roughly 5500 projects referred since the act’s inception in 2000 have been challenged using “third-party appeal rights”. And of those 5500, only 27 have been the subject of third-party legal appeals. …
Legal experts say the Federal Government’s plan to stop environmentalists “sabotaging” major projects could actually result in more time being spent in the courts. Earlier this month, legal proceedings by a Queensland environment group forced the Government to reconsider its approval of Adani’s $16 billion Carmichael coal mine because Environment Minister Greg Hunt had not …
The Abbott government has revealed plans to repeal a section of Australia’s environment laws that allows green groups to challenge approvals for mining projects and other large developments in the courts. Federal Attorney-General George Brandis said the government would seek to repeal section 487 (2) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and “return …
Conservationists says the government is trying to hush them after exposing dodgy practices. Thom Mitchell reports. The Victorian government has fined a conservationist who exposed what the Environment Minister described as “very disturbing” and “extremely poor practice” logging, despite reports he helped prepare becoming a catalyst for substantial reform of industry guidelines. In April this …
